Home Sweet Home

Purchasing a new home the spring after my 14year marriage ended marked a significant new beginning for me.

I knew I wanted to bring something dear to me the very first time I stepped inside my new home to set the tone for my life there.

I thought long and hard about what that item would be. Maybe I would bring a candle to signify that light and warmth would always be present in my new home. Perhaps a beautiful shell would be an invitation to the healing power of nature. Or I could bring a colourful bouquet of flowers to welcome beauty into my new home.

As I pondered what to bring, the enormity of the change I was going through began to sink in.

This is one of the beauties of creating a ceremony with my clients. This is the point in the process where they find a great deal of clarity with some important realizations.

In my case, I realized that I had finished walking through grief after the end of my 14year marriage and I had stepped into a powerful place where I was able to look for and purchase a new home all on my own. That’s when I knew what I would bring.

On the closing date, when I took the keys out of my pocket and turned them in the lock for the very first time, I brought something that was absolutely precious inside…I brought me!

A few weeks later after getting a new roof and painting some of the rooms, I decided to have a House Blessing before I moved into my new home. I asked several of my closest friends to join me in the blessing.

We gathered on a beautiful summer afternoon in a circle on the floor in my empty living room. I had placed a white sheet and some white candles and a clear glass bowl with water in the center. I spoke about my hopes for my life in my new home and then we sang, burned sage and celebrated noisily in each and every corner of the house.

It was summer and my windows were wide open. Although I invited my friends to help me clear the energy from the previous owners, I admit, I was worried what my neighbours would think about all the noise we were making.

Fortunately no one came knocking on the door and we were able to carry on uninhibited. Afterwards, we shared a lovely picnic in my garden and toasted to my happiness in my new home.

When our celebration was over, I walked out in front of my house to say goodbye to my friends and the young boy next door whom I hadn’t met yet said, “What was all that racket coming from your house?” I gulped preparing myself for the first of many potential questions about our noisy activities.

When I told him that I’d asked my friends over to bless my new home with drumming and singing, he said, “You should have asked me, I could have brought my guitar!” I chose to receive his words as my official “welcome to the neighbourhood”!

It’s such a pleasure discovering the unexpected gems when I work with clients to create their own ceremonies. Whether it’s a bird calling out at just the right moment, the excitement of running for cover during a sudden rain or the kind words offered by a relative, the unexpected gems are pure delight.

Are you experiencing a new beginning? Make a choice to mark it simply or significantly.

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